Life With an 18 Month Old Jude

So our little guy will be turning 1 8  M O N T H S this Saturday!  Jude has brought so much joy and delight to our lives and it seems that each new stage just gets better.  I was this thinking about this post the other day and thought it was time for another Jude update. 

• He has some moves.  He started walking two weeks after his 1st birthday and it seems as if he hasn't stopped moving since.  He runs, jumps, and spins in circles.  However, I think his favorite move is dancing.  At the first sound of music he stops whatever he is doing and starts dancing.  His dancing looks a little like this: stationary, bending his knees, twisting back and forth, and swinging his arms.  As it happens, it has turned out being one of my favorite things to watch.
• Curious should probably be his middle name.  This kid has sensitive ears.  For example, if he hears a dog barking outside, he immediately stops and says, "What's that?"  Then, he begins barking as if to tell us that he knows it is a dog.  Also, he has to be included.  Do not even think about having people over after his bedtime.  If he thinks he is missing something, he will definitely let you know until you come and get him up. 
• His vocabulary is growing!!!  If you are a parent, then you probably know the excitement that comes with each new word your child learns.  Here are a few words that he says: Dada, Momma, Papaw, Sunshine (my mother-in-law's dog's name), bye bye, yes, no, bites, hush, mess, and boo.
• Microphones and instruments are his favorites.  He didn't really have much of a chance seeing as most of the people in his life use these things, so we are glad that he has a love for them.  His favorite instruments seem to be the piano, guitar, and drums.  If you follow me on Twitter or Vine you have seen this video of Jude singing and playing his guitar from our recent road trip.   I'm secretly hoping that his love for these things never grows old.  ;)
• He has some new tricks.  His newest is sticking out his tongue...however, this can get gross real quick if he is eating.  If you ask him to show his mad face he will clench his fists, get red in the face, and stick his bottom teeth out.  This happens to be the funniest ever, but I have yet to catch it on camera.  He likes to worship Jesus.  I mentioned earlier that he loves to dance when hearing music.  Well, most of the time that includes him raising his hands to worship Jesus.  He loves playing peek-a-boo.  And lastly, he has a great fake laugh.
• Jude is a smarty!  It amazes how quick he picks up on things.  The other day I was watching him go through his daily ritual of looking at books.  I noticed that he would recognize an upside down book right away and turn it right side up.  I'm not sure if this is developmentally appropriate for his age, but it definitely made him look smart. ;)
• His kisses have even gotten better!!!  Now a kiss from Jude includes him closing his lips, saying "mmmmm", and giving a kiss.  And yes, they are the sweetest EVER!

Snow Days Are Made For...

Today Matt & I had our first snow day off together!  Yippee!!!  It was glorious...especially since both of our schools announced they would be closed last night.  So, we set Z E R O alarms (that's good for us since we usually set 3).  We slept in until 8:30 (again that's good for us since we usually are up at 6:00).  Matt made breakfast, snow plowed our drive and our neighbor's.  Jude & I "cleaned" around the house.  Then, we ventured out to get Matt's truck tire fixed.  Oh the fun and exciting things you can do on a snow day. ;)  The question was what should we do while waiting for the truck to be finished.  We needed milk...check.  It was lunch time and we needed to eat...check.  We ended up eating at Dorothy Lane Market.  I mostly love their sugar cookies, but coming in a near second has to be their pizza.  So, there you have it.  Snow days...the best ever!

Photos Courtesy of myPhone

A Weekend Getaway

Last weekend we were lucky enough to take a day off work leaving us with a four day weekend.  We made an escape to Gatlinburg, TN.  This was a nice kick-off to the birthday celebrating for Matt.  This road trip was the furthest Jude has traveled, and let me tell ya...this kid was uh-mazing!  Jude has never been one to adapt well to change, but he did such a fantastic job.  **proud mom moment**  This was our trip in a nutshell...we stayed in an amazing 3-story cabin on a mountain (thanks Uncle Jeff), shopped, ate, rested, fed bears, and visited the Ripley's Aquarium.  All in all, not bad for our first family trip!  I wouldn't mind doing that once per month. ;)